"This day will be written in gold not only in the history of friendship between the Armenian and French peoples, but also in the annals of the history of the protection of human rights worldwide," said Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, in a statement carried by AFP.

Free speech

The Turkish government argues that judging what happened to the Armenian community in eastern Turkey in 1915-16 should be left to historians, and that the French law will restrict freedom of speech.

Analysis

By Jonathan HeadBBC News, Istanbul

President Sarkozy has sent a letter to the Turkish prime minister stating that the law is not aimed at any country, but only at addressing the past suffering of Armenians.

Ironically, events in the Middle East had started to bring France and Turkey closer together: after initially squabbling over Libya, they have both become leading supporters of the Syrian opposition.

But Turkish emotions over the Armenian issue run very high, and will certainly eclipse any co-operation they might have had over Syria.

Turkish officials acknowledge that atrocities were committed but argue that there was no systematic attempt to destroy the Armenian people - and that many innocent Muslim Turks also died in the turmoil of the events, in the middle of World War I.

France formally recognised the killings as genocide in 2001, one of more than 20 countries which have done so.

The current bill means that anyone denying the deaths were genocide would face a jail term and a fine of 45,000 euros (£29,000; $58,000).

The bill was put forward by President Sarkozy's UMP party.

France has half a million citizens of Armenian descent, and correspondents say their votes may be important in this year's presidential elections.

Ahead of the vote, a spokesman for the French foreign ministry called for "calm," saying Turkey was a partner and a very important ally of France.